Another day in the mountains...

The weekend before I visited the Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens in Hiawassee, GA. (see my previous post here ) was the beginning of their weekend festivals. There were some vendors' tents but they were closed, apart from one that was partly opened. You could see the rustic wood pieces for sale. Before I left the gardens I checked to see if someone was in this tent, but there was no one, although I was able to get a business card of the wood craftsman. In 2019 a large hackberry tree in front of my house in Nashville was struck by lightning and had to be cut down. A piece of the tree was given to me and it fit on top of a plant stand I had. So I was interested in a little table I had seen under the tent in the garden as a match for my plant stand.

Upon return to the lodge I called the wood artisan and left a message. He called me back and told me he had some pieces for sale in his house and only lived about 6 miles away in Young Harris, GA. We agreed that I would go there the next morning early, before 9 am as I had to meet a friend in Hiawassee at 10:30 am. He gave me his address and said I could find it easily with my GPS. I got up at 6 am the next morning to pack and have a quick breakfast. I was able to take a photo of the sunrise over the lake as pictured in my header photo. I checked Google Maps and saw his house in the middle of woods on a hill. Below is a map of the aread where I was. It is located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains on the border of Georgia and North Carolina. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

I placed the address in my car GPS and drove away. Upon reaching Young Harris my GPS told me to turn right on GA State Route 66, then left, then a bit later right, then further on left, then right again, then left and then it said "You have reached your destination." I was on a hill with no houses anywhere near. I called him and he told me two roads had the same name and I was on the wrong one. My GPS was useless then and I could not remember all the turns. After a while I tried to call him again but I was on a tiny road on a hill and there was no cellular signal. I kept driving but the road was twisting up the mountain. I was totally lost.

I had seen a house on the side, among the trees, and started going back toward their driveway to ask for directions. Then I remembered that I was in the US, and asking directions can be dangerous. The red marker on the map below shows where his house was and the black cross near the North Carolina border, in the mountains, was where I went.

I gingerly turned around (as by then the road was one lane) and after twists and turns somehow got back on the main road where my cell phone worked again and he came and met me. I did find a small table at his house and bought it. Then I had to find my way back to the main road again... not easy. This little trip should have taken me 45 minutes but ended taking almost 2 hours (I was lost for a long time...) Luckily I made it back to Hiawassee by 10:30 am to meet my Swiss friend. Then after a nice visit with a strong cup of coffee and a tasty piece of almond cake I drove down the road again toward Bavarian-style Helen, Georgia. It was a lovely morning and the route around the mountains is scenic but I had forgotten that it is steep hill mountain driving on a winding road with blind curves. Although I am used to these mountain roads if I don't use the interstate highways between Tennessee and Georgia, but I had to keep my eyes on the road and not the blubbling stream along the highway.

Arriving in Helen, I stopped at the Betty's Country Store. The first time my husband and I drove to Hiawassee we stopped at Betty's Country Store to buy a snack for our baby daughters. That was back in 1975. The store had opened in 1973 and was quite small, selling mostly fruits, vegetables and snacks. Now it had expanded quite a lot, like a large supermarket, with meat, beer and wines, etc., and eating areas outdoors.

I drove about 1.5 miles down to the village of Sautee-Nacoochee and stopped at the Nora Mill Granary Grist Mill and Country Store (one of the southeast's last working grist mill.) A small dam on the Chattahoochee River was built there in 1824, and later, in 1876, a grist mill was established selling grits, flours and cornmeal. The mill is four stories tall and has 1,500 pound French Burr Mill stones, a 100-foot wooden raceway and a water turbine. A gold prospector, John Martin, built the mill in 1876. In 1901 it was purchased by Dr. Lamartine G. Hardman who named the mill after his sister Nora.

Now the mill has been run by four generation of the Fain family. They still use the original stones to make flours, grits, cornmeal, etc. They sell other products like jams, salsa, hot sauces, syrups, local honeys and pre-packaged products such as pioneer's porridge, pancake and waffle mixes, biscuit and bread mixes amd more. The old-fashioned country store attached to the mill is quaint and it is fun to walk around and look at everything for sale, which I did and took numerous photos.

An assortment of kitchen items were also for sale such as cast iron cookware, cookbooks, wooden mixing bowls and trays, old-fashioned candles and other attractive kitchen gifts.

I walked out to the breezeway and porch that overlooks the Chattahoochee River. Large trout could be seen gathering at the foot of the dam.

It was a warm and sunny day. Watching the trout from the deck and listening to the bubbling river below was vey relaxing after all the mountain driving.

Back inside I took more photos of interesting old items on the walls.

There was also information on how the mill operates. It uses turbines rather than the water wheels used by most mills of that time. It gives an idea on how flour was produced in the past, and how this mill has kept producing stone-ground grains for almost 150 years. The mill is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Before I left I purchased a few items, some requested by my daughters, and a few for me, as shown below. I make my own jams but I bought a couple that were a mixture, to taste and see if I'd like to try making them - T.O.E jam (tangering, orange, elderberry) and Five Pepper Strawberry jelly (strawberry, green bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, Thai pepper, cayenne pepper, habanero pepper.) For the people who cannot drive to the North Georgia Mountains to buy their products Nora Mill has an online store, click here for it. Once you click on the online store link you will see all the different items for sale, and they ship.

Then it was time to hit the road again. I could have driven down the highway to Atlanta but that would have meant crossing the city during rush hour... Instead I cut across the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to Talking Rock, GA. to join highway I-575 down to my area, close to Kennesaw Mountain. It was a small two lane road from Nacoochee to Talking Rock with many curves, but there was hardly any traffic, and it was scenic.

I arrived home at 5:30 pm, quite tired and hungry as I had had no lunch. I unloaded the car and noticed that my newly purchased table (made of maple) was a lot smoother and shinier than the piece of hackberry wood I had placed on top of my plant stand. Later, I called the wood artisan to ask him what I should do. He suggested that I bring my piece of wood back to him and he would work on it. Well, now, will I dare go back and get lost in the mountains once more? I told him I may come back in a couple of months...

There was no fresh food in the house and I did not feel like eating a frozen dinner, so I drove to the local diner. They serve fresh meals with large portions. I usually can bring food home for a couple more meals. I had a meat, two vegetables and a side of coleslaw salad. Then the server came and asked what dessert I had selected. I told him I was full and ate only a third of my meal. He said he would bring me a take-out box and asked again what dessert I wanted. I repeated I desired no dessert to which he replied "you have to select a dessert." I asked him why? He said "because someone has paid for your meal and dessert is included." I asked him who had paid and he said he was not at liberty to tell me. So I selected a piece of strawberry cake to take home. When he brought it to me he said "a funny thing happened - someone else wanted to pay for your meal and I said 'too late, her meal is already paid for'. I was astounded and asked him if this occurred often in his restaurant. He told me he had been working there for a long while and he could think of no other time this took place for one of his customers. I was speechless.

What a day it had been - getting lost on primitive roads in the North Georgia Mountains after sunrise, and being afraid to ask for directions, then having two different patrons wishing to buy my dinner at sunset. How about that! Certainly a day to remember.

Orchids in Nashville, Tennessee

Lately I have been reading articles listing the advantages of walking. The health benefits are plentiful. With my monthly commutes between Nashville and Atlanta and the constant clearing of the two houses I have not been very active outdoors. Even though I live in a "walking area" of Nashville, the sidewalk is narrow and uneven. I have to constantly look at the ground to make sure I don't stumble. In addition many automobiles pass by and I am not keen to breathe motor exhaust pollution. Thinking of nicer surroundings for walking I remembered that when our younger daughter and family moved to Tennessee they took us to visit the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville. I looked them up and realized that Cheekwood is only 6 miles from my house or a short drive away. On February 10, 2023, I visited the gardens and became a member.

This is what Cheekwood says about their gardens: "Explore our Gardens - Cheekwood offers year-round beauty on an historic property with 55 acres of awe-inspiring gardens, expansive vistas and art. Visitors enjoy programming for all ages, exhibitions, family activities, and year-round festivals celebrating the four seasons. Within its thirteen distinct gardens and woodland sculpture trail, a wide variety of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and trees combine with rotating seasonal displays to provide a place for reflection and inspiration." Of course being early February there were few flowers to admire. At a distance I saw a tree with what I thought were some blossoms. It was a Pussy Willow tree (salix caprea) and its catkins (long, thin cluster of tiny, petalles flowers growing on some trees) were shining in the sun.

Next to it was a redbud tree already showing rosy pink blossoms. On the ground, some hellebores brought color among the fallen leaves.

Walking further on I saw a sign advertizing "Orchids in the Mansion."

I walked up the hill to the historic mansion to have a look. As you entered the mansion, the railing of the grand staircase in the foyer leading to the second floor was decorated with orchids.

White orchids were arranged in a bowl in a center table.

The 1930's Georgian-style mansion contains several rooms that have been restored with authentic furnishings. I'll visit them more thoroughly at a later date. This time my focus was directed to the orchids. Some of the historic rooms contained orchid arrangements.

The orchids were mostly exhibited in what they called the "loggia." But since it was enclosed in the second floor I would call it a classical "orangery," a tropical and tall conservatory place. As you entered you were totally surrounded by orchids... you were immersed in clouds of white and purple.

It was a harmony of orchids dripping down the ceiling,

climbing the walls,

resting on the ground, at eye level and everywhere in between... blooming orchids all around.

The predominantly white orchids were framed with tropical plants offering a diversity of texture to the arrangements.

But there were other shades of the Phalaenopsis or Moth orchids such as pink, light purple, yellow and striped coral or mixed with deep purple.

Leaving the gardens I recognized some star magnolias. Unfortunately they were framed with dark cryptomeria trees that did not look healthy - very brown and dead looking. There are many brown shrubs and trees all around Nashville now because of this past harsh dry and hot summer followed by unusually freezing days this winter.

After going back to Georgia for a couple of weeks I came back to Nashville this last week. Last Tuesday February 28, 2023, was very warm and sunny. It was close to 80 F (26.6 C) - a record breaker for Nashville, when in the west and north of the US they had and still have feet of snow and ice (although that is not good to have such warm weather as it is usually followed with storms and tornadoes; like yesterday, I lost power from early afternoon until this morning.) I went to have a last glimpse of the orchid exhibit before it closes tomorrow. The warm weather had made a difference in the gardens - it was a riot of spring flowers and trees in bloom everywhere. I went to the exhibit first and walked through the gallery to a couple more of the historic rooms.

The orchids were still looking very fresh. I had brought another Nikon camera and took more photos. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

On the grounds below the mansion, fragrant blue hyacinths were at the base of pink saucer magnolia trees.

Walking slowly toward the exit I encountered narcissus, flowering quinces, pink hyacinths and more pink magnolia trees in bloom. It was hard to believe we were in February and not already into spring.

Here and there were pockets of daffodils. I understand that 100,000 more daffodil bulbs were planted last fall. They should be in full bloom soon.

But already there was a small field of daffodils around the transparent, open stainless steel body sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa (born in 1955.) It is called Silent Music II, maybe as a nod to Nashville, the "Music City."

Driving out of the gardens I passed by the sign announcing the upcoming "Cheekwood in Blooms" from March to April. I'll come back with my cameras and take more photos of lovely flowers. Now it was time to renew and refresh myself with a small meal at an old-fashioned lunch spot.

Below is one last orchid, Orchid and Hummingbird, by Martin Johnson Head - American, 1819-1904.

Downton Abbey in Atlanta, part 2

In an older entry of the Harvard University's blog a post was titled "No, it's not just you: why time "speeds up" as we get older." A short article then gives one of he reasons" "...over time, the rate at which we process visual information slows down, and this is what makes time 'speed up' as we grow older..." you can read the argument here. Could be one of the reasons time is speeding up for me. Year 2022 is almost at the finish point but I feel that we should only be halfway through it. It seems that the years quicken as my birthdays accumulate. Last December 2021 I wrote a post on an exhibition in Atlanta on Downton Abbey, part one, and before I could write part two, we were already in March, and too late for a holiday post. But since we are back in a month of December, and the clock is ticking quickly toward year end, below is part two. You may wish to go to part one to look back at some of the photos and explanations - click on "Downton Abbey in Atlanta, part 1."

For those not familiar with the television series Downton Abbey, it is a period drama that was shown during six seasons. It represented an English aristocratic family, the Crawleys who lived at the Downton Abbey estate. We followed their lives from 1912 through the 1920s. The show depicted historical events as well as how life was for the nobility and their servants during this rapidly changing time. Downton Abbey is fictitious but the estate where the series was filmed is in Hampshire, England. The real Highclere Castle, set on 5,000 acres of land, was built in 1679 and is the country seat of the Eighth Earl of Carnarvon, his family, staff and seven dogs. There are 300 rooms in Highclere Castle, the real Downton Abbey, 40 to 50 of them are bedrooms but none have showers - only full baths. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

The estate is open to the public for self-guided tours during the summer months and at Easter and Christmas. I certainly would like to visit it, but this would be the estate as it is now in the 2020's, not as in the post-Edwardian times shown in the series. Exterior shots of the abbey, the main hall, dining room and drawing room use Highclere Castle in the TV series, but the servants' quarters, kitchen and family bedrooms were sets created at the Ealing Studios. The Atlanta Downton exhibit showed those sets, such as the dining room, Mrs. Patmore's kitchen, Lady Mary's bedroom, Carson's pantry plus many artifacts from the show. At this exhibition you really felt like you were in the kitchen and in the servants' quarters. Actually you were, because they do not exist in the real Highclere Castle. There is no downstairs kitchen area there, that area is now devoted to an Egyptian exposition.

I visited the Atlanta exhibition last year early one morning in mid-week. There were not many visitors and I found myself alone in the reconstructed servants' quarters. I took many pictures. It felt like the servants were just around the corner,

and the bell board was going to summon the staff any minute.

Then I entered the kitchen that was so very busy during the TV shows.

Walking by the pantry of Mr. Carson, the butler in the show, I could visualize him writing at his desk.

Back upstairs I entered a large room and sat in one of the chairs. The walls became alive with an immersive, multi-media image projection of several rooms of Downton. In this three-sided video you could see doors open with characters conversing. Then there were black and white scenes of World War 1 with explosions, soldiers running into tranches transporting you to the horrors of this war; more scenes followed and it ended with images of the staff of Downton Abbey.

Moving on in front of Lady Mary's bedroom I could almost see her sitting by her dressing mirror, or reading newspapers in bed.

I took several photos of the gorgeously appointed dining room, decorated for the Holidays.

This was such an expansive exhibition with 50-plus costumes and a multitude of early 20th century artifacts. There were displays explaining the society, the culture and issues of those times; a great number of film clips and photos of the TV show were all around.

A beautiful hat display made me sigh. I own several lovely hats that I never wear. Apart from sun hats for gardening there are not many occasions to wear fancy hats nowadays, at least in the United States.

Several rooms contained actual outfits worn by the actors during the shows. They ranged from riding outfits to country tweeds and lavish evening gowns. There were faithful reproductions of the jewelry and garments aristocratic ladies and gentlemen might have worn in the 1910s through the 1920s in England, as well as their servants' outfits. Some of the dresses, or parts of the dresses, were authentic such as the extensive beadwork on some of the gowns. (Don't forget to click on the collage to enlarge and see better.)

Lady Edith's wedding short sleeve dress was a vintage original garment, I understand. The lace was exquisite. For a 100+ years old lace it looked stunningly fresh, see the first 3 top photos in the collage below.

Many of the gowns had intricate detail work, such as Lady Rose's presentation dress below. It is an adaptation of a vintage original, with a green applique ribbon. The costumes on the TV show were always elegant.

I had come to the end of the exhibit. Mr. Carson, the butler, gave some parting words through a hologram ending with: "Perhaps we'll meet again. You never know."

It had been an enjoyable exhibition - this fully immersive,multi-media extravaganza made me feel like I had visited the Crawleys at Downton Abbey during the yearend holidays.

The gift shop offered many souvenirs from the show, mugs, teas, books, etc.

I already own several books on Downton Abbey including the Countess of Carnarvon's "Christmas at Highclere." It includes a narrative of traditions at the castle, recipes and details on the elaborate Christmas parties there.

In her book, Lady Carnarvon gives a behind the scenes look at the rituals and routines of the castle throughout the Holidays. It tells of Highclere Christmases past and present including the raising of a 25-foot tree in the saloon, an opulent room designed for the 4th Earl in the 1860s. (This is one of 60 Christmas trees thoughout Highclere.) There are beautiful illustrations of the Castle grounds as well.

Cold Christmas 2022 is gone now. I watched King Charles' first Christmas speech on the BBC via youTube. I'll quote some of his ending words: "While Christmas is of course a Christian celebration, the power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across the boundaries of faith and belief. So whatever faith you have, or whether you have none, it is in this life-giving light and with the true humility that lies in our service to others, that I believe we can find hope for the future. Let us therefore celebrate it together and cherish it always." These are noteworthy words, indeed.

My final words are not that eloquent. I only wish you a Happy New Year and hope that 2023 will bring you joy, happiness and good health; stay well and stay warm,

and ...